First Laugh!

Our little girl had her first laugh!  Every mom is right when they say that it is the most beautiful sound they could ever hear.  It all happened when Lucas was making funny faces at her and she just did it.  It took me by surprise but it seemed so natural to her like she has been doing it all along.

I can't wait to hear the next one!

Duke's Surgery

Poor Duke has been living a rough life recently.  We noticed that he started limping a couple months ago, but thought that it had to do with his weight and put him on a doggie diet.  In the last few weeks, we noticed that it was getting worse so we brought him in again to see the doctor.  The doctor let us know that he ruptured/tore his CCL in both of this knees.  The CCL is like the dog ACL ligament in his knee and was the same ligament that I tore my sophomore year at LMU playing soccer.  The left knee was definitely worse, so the doctor suggested that we have surgery on that one first and then come back in a couple months for surgery on the right knee.

I'm sure you are thinking that getting surgery on a dog is crazy and also crazy expensive.  Well, it is that that is why I think we need to sell one of my kidneys.  Anyone interested?  Hahaha.  Just joking, Duke and Harley mean the world to us and we would do anything to help them have a good, happy and healthy life!

So Honored to be Godparents!

We are so unbelievably honored that our good friends, Bridget and Ely, asked us to be their daughter's godparents.  We LOVE Ilikea and can't wait to meet her and for her and Ke'alohi to be best friends.

It really does mean so much to us that they thought of us!  Here is the most recent picture of our GODDAUGHTER with her first doll!

Four-Month Doctor's Appointment

At this appointment with Dr. Ouchi, Ke'alohi weighed in at 16 pounds and 4 ounces, measured 25 inches and her head circumference was 16.75 inches.  Though the increase in Ke'alohi's weight and height (mostly weight) surprised me, she assured me that Ke'alohi is growing well, in the 95th percentile for weight and 75th for height.  We then talked about introducing solids into Ke'alohi's diet, but then all decided that we should wait until the next appointment at six months to really make any changes.  For now, she was doing great on her formula.  

Even though I knew the shots here coming, nothing really makes you okay with or prepared to see your child in pain.  They gave Ke'alohi one oral vaccination and three shots in her legs.  Lucky for us, Lucas took the day off of work to come with us for support and to spend my last day of maternity leave as a family.

We will be going back in two months for her six-month appointment to get her next set of shots and possibly get Ke'alohi's ears pierced.  I'm still working on Daddy!

Four Months Old!

Look who is four months old today! She is officially an infant and not a newborn.  I absolutely love watching her grow up and do new things.  Becoming a mother really is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced and I thank God each day for her.

Ten Facts about Ke'alohi at Four Months:

1. Weighs 16 pounds and 4 ounces and measures 25 inches.
2. Still sleeps great and mostly through the night in her crib!
3. Smiles and coos constantly, maybe a giggle coming soon.
4. Still likes to pull on Mommy's hair and necklace.
5. Can watch the crib mobile for hours.
6. Drinks six ounces of formula at each feeding.
7. Harley is her favorite thing to watch move around.
8. Primarily likes to sleep on her side or on her tummy.
9. Eyes are still dark, but not quite brown.
10. Her favorite toy to play with are the toy links.

First Night Sleeping in the Crib!

It is with a surprisingly heavy heart that I write that Ke'alohi is no longer sleeping in our room next to us in her bassinet.  When we first got pregnant, I really only pictured her sleeping in her crib from the beginning.  As we got closer to my due date, we realized that with my mom staying with us to help out, it would be easier for everyone if Ke'alohi stayed in our bedroom in the beginning because of all the late night feedings.  We planned on moving her to her own room once my mom left at six weeks.

Well that obviously came and went as I made up more and more reasons/excuses why she should stay with us.  We have now reached the point where she is growing out of her bassinet and Lucas made the call that she is old enough to sleep on her own.  She did great, only waking up once at 2:30 am for a quick late night snack and went back to bed with ease.

I'm sure it will be too soon when we will need to lower her mattress and convert her crib into the toddler bed.

LMU Alumni BBQ

The last weekend of every September is the LMU Alumni BBQ.  It is a great time to visit the campus and see old friends.  It was especially special for us this year because we had Ke'alohi with us.  When we look back, the last three times we have come here, we were at different milestones; engaged, married, or pregnant.  It's crazy to see how time is flying by!

We got to see so many friends and it was great that everyone we saw got to meet our daughter.  She was a trooper the whole day, staying busy napping, eating and being held by everyone and anyone.  It's weird to think that at next year's LMU Alumni BBQ, she will be walking and we will be having to keep up with her!

Surprise Visit to My Halau Sisters

This must be the week of visits and surprises!  It might be also because my maternity leave is nearing the end and I want to make sure to see as many people as possible that have loved and supported Lucas, Ke'alohi and I throughout this pregnancy and parenthood.  So, we decided to head down to South Bay and visit my hula sisters at practice.  They showed us a few beautiful dances (do they ever really dance anything but beautiful) and Ke'alohi had a great time watching them and showing off how she can almost sit up.

We can't wait for her to join the keiki class and start dancing hula!

Visit with Auntie Hayley and Hartlee

Hayley was one of my sorority sisters and was also in my "Theta Family."  We both got pregnant around the same time and had girls about two weeks apart.  Because of all the craziness with being new moms, we weren't able to actually hang out and see each other until now.  

It was so much fun watching Hartlee and Ke'alohi play with each other and asking each other the standard new mom questions of "Does your daughter do this?" and "Is it normal for them to do this?"  The visit was way too short but gave me a great excuse to dress up Ke'alohi in a cute outfit and show off her inner L.A. Diva!

Surprise Visit to Auntie Jill's Office

Jill is without a doubt one of my closest friends and is truly there whenever I need her.  Ke'alohi and I wanted to show her a little love so we surprised her at work with flowers.  If you know Jill, she works harder than anyone I know, so we knew that the best place to surprise her or to see her was her office.  We were right that she was crazy busy, but she was able to show us her office and hang out for a few minutes.

We love you Auntie Jill!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We all know that Ke'alohi is a daddy's girl, so we loved that we got to spend his first birthday since her birth as a family.  We spent the day shopping for the perfect gift for him; a stroller!  Well actually the gift is more for Ke'alohi but we have gotten used to the fact that most of "our" presents now days will be really for Ke'alohi.

Ohh, the joys of parenthood!  Here is a picture of Daddy and Ke'alohi yesterday at Lobsterfest!

Visit from Auntie Caley

Caley is one of my closest friends and bridesmaid in our wedding that lives up in Northern California.  She was in town for the weekend and was nice enough to stop by, bring breakfast and COFFEE.  Any new parent knows that caffeine is the key to parenting in the beginning when the little one doesn't sleep through the night or when they do, wake up very early.

We had a fabulous time talking about Caley's wedding next September and can't wait to see her walk down the aisle to Ryan, looking stunning as always!  Hopefully we can make a trip up to them or they can come down before the big day!

Lobsterfest!

I LOVE LOBSTER!  It was one of the things I craved most while I was pregnant.  I know what you are thinking, "Now that's an expensive craving!" It was! Every September, usually on Lucas' birthday weekend, the Port of Los Angeles hosts the annual Lobster Festival of Los Angeles.  This is the third time we have gone and we had loads of fun, this time with my mom and Lucas' parents.

My mom, who I got my love of food from, was in town because she helped me fly back with Ke'alohi from our trip to Missouri.  There is no way I would have been able to carry and load everything without another set of hands.  They don't tell you how much things you need to bring when you travel with a baby!

We spent the afternoon munching on lobster, the NomNom Truck, cheesecurds (a Midwest staple we actually found here in Los Angeles) and lemonade.  I can't wait for next year when Ke'alohi can try some of the food!

Happy Grandparents Day...

Not only is today the 10th anniversary of 9/11 but it is Grandparents Day.  We are very lucky to have both of our parents in Ke'alohi's life and even luckier to be able to spend the day with my parents on the lake.  We spent our time on the boat going to Coconuts Caribbean Beach Bar and Grill and the Bagnell Dam which is at the bottom of the lake.  It was a clear day and the water was perfect.  Puna even took the boat to 43 mph on the way back.  It was the fastest she had ever driven in the boat.  She made it a point to pass all the pontoon boats along the way.

We had marinated Pork Tenderloins for dinner.  While Opa was grilling, Ke'alohi entertained him with cooing and kept him in stitches.  They were a riot together!

Someone is Trying to Sit Up

This little girl is growing up before my eyes.  Today, when we were practicing tummy time, we decided to see how she is doing with sitting.  Once we positioned her legs and arms for her she was able to stay up for a few seconds and flash us a smile.

That smile melts my heart!

Visiting Great-Grandpa Bill

While we were up in Iowa I asked my dad if we could visit his father's grave.  Grandpa Bill was a great man and though I don't remember him much, all the things I have heard about him have been wonderful and touching stories.  He would play with me for hours, especially with my favorite stacking cups.  My mom said that he would stack them up just to see me knock them down and laugh.  He could do this for hours without complaint.

That is why my first toy that I bought Ke'alohi was her own set of stacking cups.  I can't wait to see my dad play with my daughter and hear the laughter, like my times with Grandpa Bill.

Visit with My Family in Iowa

On this trip, we were only expecting to spend time with my parents but an unfortunate event led us to Iowa for a funeral.  Not the best circumstances for Ke'alohi to meet the rest of the family.  My aunt's mother, Grandma Fran, passed away.  She was a great woman who lived to the age of 97.  Grandma Fran was from Iowa so all the family met back in Des Moines to celebrate her life.

Ke'alohi got to see Uncle Larry, Auntie Lisa, Aunt Diana and cousins Kirk, Krissa, Annamarie, Jason, Dominic, Xavier, Mary Frances and Josephine.  It was so great to see everyone!

After Grandma Fran's service, we all went out to dinner and really got to catch up and see how everyone was doing.  I got to pick Annamarie's brain on child-rearing because she is a mom of FOUR!  I thought having one was hard enough.  Jason and Annamarie have four little ones under the age of seven!

Even though it was an emotional couple of days, it was so nice to see our family and for them to meet Ke'alohi.  I can't wait to see them again and for the rest of the family to meet Lucas!

Happy Birthday Auntie Jill...

It's Auntie Jill's birthday! She is one of my closest friends and was a bridesmaid at my wedding.  Today is her special day and we hope we can hang out with her soon.  This is my favorite picture of her, Andrew (her boyfriend) and Ke'alohi when they visited us in the hospital.

We love you Auntie Jill!

Saying Goodbye to Daddy = Sad Face

Today we said goodbye to Lucas.  He was only able to stay for the Labor Day weekend while Ke'alohi and I stayed for another eight days.  We had a great time the last few days but knew that this moment was coming.  Ke'alohi and I were bummed that he couldn't stay and have fun with us on the lake.  Poor Lucas had to go back to work and get the dogs back from his parent's house.  Duke and Harley were so lucky to have Lucas' parents take loving care of them.

We can't wait to see him next week and give him the biggest hugs ever!

Feeding the Ducks and Bath Time

Here at the lake, my mom is a pretty popular person.  You would assume that she was popular with people, nope, it's with the ducks.  Everyday at 5:00pm, all the ducks in the area corral around our dock to get fed by my mom.  You might be thinking that she throws a few bread crumbs, when she actually throws 5 pounds of fish/duck food every afternoon.  My dad says that they buy 50 pounds of feed every 10 days.  That's a lot!

After we finished feeding the ducks, we had fun giving Ke'alohi a bath in the kitchen sick.  She could stay in there for hours but then she would prune.  Hehehe.  We are all taking advantage of the time when she can still fit in the sink.  Soon she will only be able to take baths in the tub like all of us. Boring!

First Iowa Football Game!

Go Hawkeyes!  Today was the season opener for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes who played the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.  They killed it and won 34 - 7.  Just so you know, my dad graduated from the University of Iowa in guess what... another Accountant in the family.  The only thing better than the Hawkeyes winning was the place we watched the game.  We went to Shrimp Daddy's, a restaurant bar and grill and had some of the best food I've had in Missouri.  We stuffed ourselves on sea hawgs (shrimp, with a dash of horseradish, wrapped in bacon, served with sour cream/dill sauce), onion rings and the boys had $2 beers that were $1 during happy hour (12pm - 5pm).  Tell me what bar serves dollar beers during the busiest time of the day?

After the game, Ke'alohi was pooped from all the cheering and took a nice, long nap.  During this time, "the boys" had some fun climbing on her to take a picture.  We had a great time rooting for the Hawkeyes and can't wait until next week when they play their rivals the Iowa State Cyclones.

First Boat Ride on the Lake!

This morning we woke up early so that we could get on the lake before everyone else.  Being that it is Labor Day weekend, we knew that there was going to be a lot of boats and jet skis on the lake and we didn't want Ke'alohi's first ride to be too bumpy.

She handled the ride like a champ and actually slept most of the way.  She was grumpy when she realized that she had to stay in her life vest the whole time we were on the boat.  Since she is so tiny, her life vest is really big on her and kind of looks like the green giant is eating her.

I can't wait for her to get older so she can really experience the lake and more boat rides with Opa and Puna.

First Trip on a Plane!

And we are off on our first family trip!  It's Labor Day weekend and we are on our way to see my parents at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.  We have been planning, well over planning, our first plane ride and packed way too much for Ke'alohi.

We got to the airport about two hours early and spent about half of that time in security.  Once we got to the security machine we realized that the line we had been waiting in was actually the easy part.  The TSA agents told us that everything had to go through the scanners: the stroller, car seat, car seat base, car seat/stroller bags, diaper bag and baby back pack.  In other words we consumed a lot of time and space in the line.  Another reason it took us so long was that my Hawaiian bracelet wouldn't come off so one of the agents had to give me a "pat down."  That was a great way to start a trip, hahaha.

Once we got through security we bought some food and water and waited for our plane.  Once we boarded, it took us a while to get settled and comfortable in our seats.  We learned very quickly that if you think your seat is tight with just yourself in it, try having a baby sprawled out on your lap.  She did great though and slept most of the way on Lucas and woke up about 45 minutes prior to landing, giving us just enough time to change her diaper and give her a bottle.

Once we landed in St. Louis, we picked up the rental car and started the three hour trek to the Lake of the Ozarks.